Welcoming the re-election of Hamid Karzai as president of Afghanistan, Russia today said it will extend “multifaceted cooperation” with the war-torn country and work in the interests of peace and stability in the region.

In a congratulatory message, President Dmitry Medvedev expressed Kremlin’s readiness to continue its help in establishing a democratic Afghanistan, promote a just and lasting peace in the country, and improve its socio-economic situation.

“I am confident that friendly Russian-Afghan relations and multifaceted cooperation between our two countries will be further developed for the benefit of the peoples of Russia and Afghanistan and in the interests of peace and stability in the region,” Medvedev wrote to Karzai in his message.

Chief of Russia’s powerful military intelligence service GRU, Lt Gen Alexander Shlyakhturov said Karzai’s re-election is seen by Russia as “positive and stabilising” element in the development of internal political situation in Afghanistan.

“Preservation of the power of Hamid Karzai is seen by us as positive and stabilising element in the development of internal political situation in Afghanistan and that’s why we will support him,” he was quoted as saying by ITAR-TASS.

Even as the Afghan polls fall short of the US policy of introducing the Western democratic values in the war-torn nation, Moscow from the beginning was staking on Karzai.

He was invited to attend the Russia-hosted Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Yekaterinburg last summer and President Medvedev held bilateral and trilateral meetings with him and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.